Customer Reviews

Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours (Prayer and Inspiration)

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I am a layman who has been praying the office for about three years now, and have found that it does help you establish a prayerful rhythmn throughout the day and keep you mindful of God and your fellow Christians.

This book has morning, daytime, evening and night prayers, with a compressed Office of Readings (you'll need the 4-volume Breviary for the full Office). It can be a little hard to get started with the Liturgy of the Hours, and some people may get frustrated. I'd suggest finding someone to help you get started--priests, deacons, and religious (e.g., nuns and brothers)all say the Liturgy, and some laymen too. Keep in mind that the Liturgy of the Hours has its roots in the Hebrew tradition of praying seven times a day, so this is a way to pray like Jesus and the earliest Christians.

While traditionally the Liturgy of the Hours has been considered more the domain of priests and religious, I think it can help satisfy a much wider need. A lot of people (including myself) have a lot of respect for the rigorous prayer life of Muslims, who pray five times a day--and I think many want to imitate that discipline as well. This is a very old Christian discipline that may help people satisfy that desire, and I hope that more people will discover the Liturgy of the Hours.

There are two one volume versions of the office, this one by the Daughters of St. Paul (DSP) and one by Catholic Book Publishing Company (CBP). How to choose? Let me go through evening prayer on Tuesday of the 12th week in ordinary time comparing both volumes. CBP publishes an annual booklet that tells you what day it is liturgically and where to find the different parts of the prayer. There is nothing comparable for the DSP but I have never felt the need for it. DSP prints one hymn without music at the beginning of the office. CBP offers two hymns with music but you must go to the back of the book to find them. Usually people say the office alone and do not sing the hymns. As another reviewer states the DSP prints the antiphon before and also after the psalm. CBP does not. The psalm can continue onto a second page so if you repeat the antiphon (optional) CBP may require flipping back. Finally, for the Canticle of Mary CBP requires going to another page in a section called the Ordinary. DSP prints the Canticle of Mary right where you need it.

DSP has the psalter and a selection of readings of the Office of Readings. At least you can try out this particular office. The patristic second readings are worth browsing through on their own right. They used to sell a one volume office of readings which is now very hard to find.

I prefer the stiff binding of the DSP to the vinyl covered paperback style of the CBP.

Overall, the CBP may be a little easier for a person who is new to the liturgy of the hours or who prays it intermittantly because of the annual guidebook. If you want the music it's definitely the way to go. A person who pays close attention to the liturgical year anyway and wants to pray the office regularly may prefer the DSP - as I do.

I have often admired the committment of Muslims, whose religious practice gives them a framework through which they pray five times a day, combining their scripture with prayers to God. They stop whatever they are doing, and whther alone or with a group, they pray and they know that everyone within their time zone is conversing with God at the same time each day. I only learned about a year ago that this ancient tradition is inherent in all Abrahamic faiths, originating with Judaism (being the oldest of the three faiths). The Liturgy of the Hours is the Christian format and tradition.

I prefer the Pauline format used in this book to that offered by the Catholic Publishing company, because I better understand when to include the antiphon. I found the book relatively easy to use for the prayers, becuase I acquired it within the Ocatave of Easter. But I don't know if I would have found the correct week if I purchased it outside of a holiday.

There is much information in this version as to how to pray the liturgy of the hours, but I have not figured out how to incorporate the non-biblical readings. I am sure there must be more information somewhere, but I can't grasp the chart, as there are not enough days for it to be one reading a day during the Easter season, and somehow they must repeat themselves.

That being said, I looked at the other one volume version (be Catholic Publishing Co.) available and this version is more user friendly. Still, I recently ordered the guide "Lord Open My Lips," hoping that it will enlighten me as to how to use the nonBiblical readings for the full devotion.

I feel as if the book has greatly enriched my prayer life. It did not take long at all to recognize the format for the prayers, and the daily selections are a good combination of petitions for help from and praise to God. I highly recomed that anyone interested in praying with scripture try this method of prayer. There is a comfortable feeling from knowing that when you pray these prayers, even though you may be alone in your room (but many Catholic churches offer the lauds prayers before mass each morning, so if you live near one and want to join in - ask they'll be thrilled to have you there), many, many people are praying them with you each day at the set times.

For those who are absolute beginners to the Liturgy of the Hours, this is perhaps not the most helpful text, though I happen to think the difficulty of learning how to pray the prayer of the Church is exaggerated. Yes this, the Pauline edition, does have an Ordinary, as the Catholic Book Publishing Co. version does. And yes, it does come with a leaflet guide. However, this particular guide does not have the daily detail of the C.B. Publishing one that comes out every year. Also this book has no supplement for recent additions and changes in the Church calendar. That being said, for those who might be familiar with the look of the Cath.Bk.Publishing version (you know, those books in the vinyl reddish covers that wrinkle when you stuff them into bookcovers), this edition gives a different look to the same old US official ICEL text. I myself miss the two color print and the Virginia Broderick symbolic illustrations, but I do NOT miss not having the antiphon printed both before and after a psalm. (the "red book version" generally only prints the antiphon before its psalm, so page ruffling becomes a distraction.) This edition includes more information on each page by varying fonts, sometimes half a dozen different typefaces per page. This gives a busy look to things but I have found in the few days that I have owned this edition that I have done much less page ruffling and find the 4 (not 5) sewn-in ribbons quite adequate for reference. It has a smaller "handprint" than the red book version, more like the fattest volume of the 4 volume LOH edition and it boasts a very study hardcover. Not a very elegant hardcover, much like what my old town library used to get when they sent away soft books to be treated to hardcovers, but it has a great heft. I have felt no need to buy a spiffy zipper cover for mine yet. If you think such considerations are unimportant, try the large print red book version. UGH! I gave that one away. In short, RECOMMENDED, with the above qualifications. PRAY!

This is a great book to help improve and deepen one's prayer life. However, if one is unfamiliar with the Liturgy of the Hours, there is little instructional material here to help get started.

I own this version, Shorter Christian Prayer, and another version of Christian prayer published by Catholic Publishing. Each has its strengths. The one published by the Catholic Publishing company definitely has the more attractive typesetting with different colored inks and decorative illustrations. It also has the music to the hymns, which this one doesn't have. However, this presentation is easier to use (you don't have to flip to other sections of the book to find the daily hymn or the canticle, and the antiphons are written out at the beginning and end of each psalm. The Catholic Book Publishing version requires more page flipping. I prefer either of these versions to the "Shorter Christian Prayer" because I like to include the office of readings in my daily routine, which is not included in the shorter version. But if you just plan to do morning and evening prayer, the shorter christian prayer is a portable alternative that does very nicely. In the end, it comes down to personal preference.

I have been reading the Christian Liturgy of the hours for the past seven years or so. The morning prayers with the scripture readings are simply unique and calm your inner soul. It brings out charity and love towards one another and those whom we encounter either at work or as a traveller. It inspires me to do what is right and not wrong and live in an austere manner concerning treatment each human being. Knowing that God loves us unconditionally regardless of all our iniquities, If one has the time to complete all of the parts of this book, such as, morning, midmorning, daytime, and evening, then, your life will be completely changed. Try to read the psalms and scripture lessons slowly. It is a very good book for young and old, the lonely who are in despair, and anyone really. The night prayers are a blessing and making peace with God and man as we retire from our daily duties. It also contains the prayers for the dead if one is interested which is very important. Reading about the saints is remarkable in learning from them and what they can do for us, especially, if one has carried that saint name. You can also find the Christmas and Advent prayers and other feast days which is breathtaking. I wish you happy reading and do enjoy what God has given to us.

This one volume edition of the Liturgy of the Hours has everything you need to celebrate morning and evening prayer (Lauds and Vespers) and night prayer (Compline). While it has a few selections from the Office of Readings (Matins) it does not have the complete office for the whole year. This is why the previous reviewer did not know what to do with the non biblical writings; these are mere fragments of Matins. If you want to celebrate Matins, you'll need the four volume set.

Since the Office of Readings is my favorite hour, I was disappointed with this edition, especially since it became redundant once I bought the 4 volume set.